President Barack Obama told House Democrats Wednesday that his administration was looking at measures to help at-risk children, particularly minority youth — a move that comes in light of the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case earlier this month.

The topic surfaced from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who was the first House Democrat to ask the president a question when the Q&A section of the meeting on Capitol Hill began, according to sources inside the room. Cummings asked Obama what the administration’s next steps were for efforts to help black youth.

Cummings emphasized to the president that officials — with the nation’s focus on the issue after the verdict earlier this month — could not let the moment pass without action.

Obama told Cummings that it was a “good time” to examine disparities in the criminal justice system, and efforts to help black, Asian, and Hispanic men and boys. The president added that officials need to look at what can be done to aid at-risk youth in general.

“We’re doing that,” Obama said, according to a source in the room. The president said some solutions could come without having to pass legislation, and that he was consulting with Attorney General Eric Holder on what options the White House has on the matter, sources said.

Wednesday’s exchange came as congressional Democrats are working to put more focus on race relations, following the verdict in Martin’s death.

Two Democrats – Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) recently launched the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys, and the group hosted Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, at a forum last week. Meanwhile, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee held a hearing on Tuesday called “A Conversation on Race and Justice in America.”